I’m a real fan of Google. They produce web-based apps galore and offer all their services for free. Their apps are clean, user-friendly and work well from a variety of angles.
Free, available, and functional. What’s not to like?
Enter the Nexus One: Google’s first in a line of phones yet to come. But wait a second. Isn’t the Droid a Google phone? What about the Hero? G1? Behold? Eris? Do I need to continue?
Is it just me, or has the line between Google and Android (Google’s mobile operating system) become really blurry? For those of you shaking your head right now and thinking, “What are you even talking about?”, my point is proven.
Google, in it’s attempt to reach higher, farther, wider and better has become a bit of a beast. It seems spastic.
I’m all for multiple phones and multiple networks with a single OS. That makes great sense to me. It’s something I’ve always felt the iPhone could benefit from. But unveiling a “Google Phone” that is built by HTC and runs Android seems dated…maybe because it’s been done before! The Eris, G1 and Hero are all HTC phones that run Android. Yes the Nexus One looks nice and yes it is well built, but yes, in the end, it is the same old thing. I ask again, why is it being billed as something ground-breaking? I just don’t get it.
Sure, you can purchase this one straight from Google, but it’s only subsidized by one network (T-mobile) and won’t branch out until months down the road. On top of that, it’s a whopping $530 for a Nexus One not tied down to a network!
That’s in the exact same ballpark as many other smartphones. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great looking device. I’m sure it’s solid and quite awesome, just not something shockingly original.
I suppose giving it the privileged google.com/phone url is Google’s way of saying that they believe this thing is crazy-awesome. They have been more than willing to use up tons of their valuable ad space to promote that fact (I’ve seen it everywhere Google is today), but I just don’t see anything worth writing home about, here.
Your thoughts? I’d love to discuss it with you!
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I’m wondering if Google is trying to establish some type of hardware standard for app developers since to begin to catch up with Apple’s app store. I’m guessing this has been part of the reason for the lack of software development for their OS. The processing power is pretty rockin’ def. more than the iPhone, may be the fastest for now-not sure though.
No doubt the phone looks fast and the OS is definitely coming along nicely. And I really am all for a multi-phone, single OS approach. It’s open, flexible, and the consumer wins. The consumers are a bit confused right now, though. I talked to a friend just today that told me his Motorola Cliq was a “Droid phone.” Droid is a line of phones for Verizon that run on the Android platform. Android is the operating system that the Cliq runs and it happens to be made by Motorola (but is not part of the “Droid” family). Totally different, but totally ambiguos to the end user. I don’t blame him at all for not knowing the difference because there really isn’t one. It’s all a marketing ploy.
I also don’t understand what, from an innovation standpoint, sets the Nexus One apart from the pack. Sure it’s got butt-kicking hardware, but so does the Droid. So does the Palm Pre. To an extent, so does the Hero. But they aren’t touted as revolutionary. They are iPhone rivals. So is the Nexus One. I guess with all the hype, I was expecting Google to blow up the box and they stayed put inside of it. If it would have debuted wide-open, unattached to a provider and affordable in that form ($200-$300 range), I would have considered that pretty revolutionary.
[...] problem is, as I shared in an earlier post about the Nexus One, nothing new or innovative is actually present. If you watch the video on the above-mentioned [...]